Review for The Bloody Judge

When you think of Jess Franco movies, if you’re like me, you think of low budget euro-sleaze S & M, often spiced with some vampiric eroticism. (‘Vampyros Lesbos’ ‘The Female Vampire’). Generally cut to shreds by censors and released using worn out transfers, you can never be sure which version of a film you might be getting. ‘The Female Vampire’ alone is available in at least half a dozen versions ranging from a fairly soft version to one where hard core scenes have been added at a later stage, possibly by Franco but maybe not. So with Franco movies on DVD it’s generally a case of ‘buyer beware’.


So imagine my surprise when watching ‘The Bloody Judge’ to discover a decent film by any standards – great cast, superbly imaginative direction, offered up with a crisp and clean transfer and with informative interviews with Christopher Lee and Jess Franco to boot.


Actually, before I start on ‘The Bloody Judge’, it’s worth reflecting on a point that Lee makes in his interview on this disc. Franco is / was actually a very fine Director, blighted on occasion by low budgets and backers demanding more and more sex and sorcery. After all, Orson Welles once demanded that a young Jesus Franco be
‘supervising Director’ on ‘Don Quixote, having already accepted him as a writer and editor. Praise for the man’s talents indeed.


‘The Bloody Judge’ is very much like a Hammer / Amicus picture with Lee in a leading role and the atmosphere of a period Hammer with its deep crimson sets, plunging necklines and horrific subject matter. Lee is actually rather good as the slightly emotionless and cruel ‘judge’ of the title, a less camp version that that of Vincent Price taking the same historic role in ‘The Witchfinder General’.


The budget for the film was generous though was from an amalgam of backers from all over the globe, meaning the cast was very international and no one version of the film would be free from local dubbing. In fact, in order to restore the most complete version of the film possible, this even drops into German with English subtitles on occasion which does seem faintly ridiculous. (Apparently the German version contained far more nudity and torture than the English though was also somewhat shorter – this takes the best of both).


The budget shows with some impressive battle scenes and some magnificent locations. It also features some decent actors with Franco reflecting in his interview that this was money well spent.
It has a decent script too with dialogue that works well despite its internationalism and Lee manages to turn in a complex and dark performance that is rooted in knowledge of his character and much research.


Set in England at the turn of the 17th Century, Judge Jeffries (Lee) is a cruelly sadistic judge, travelling the land and issuing orders for torture or execution (or both) to the accused, refusing to listen to any form of defence. His king and master, James II, is threatened by William of Orange and, to coin a phrase, the peasants are revolting in anticipation of this welcome change of leadership. Judge Jeffries is having none of it, accusing female dissenters of witchcraft and therefore justifying burning them at the stake.


But we learn that Jeffries is not driven by patriotism alone. He appears to get his kicks torturing women and cherry-picking the best of them from the dungeons as his own play-things.
Things start to go awry for the Judge when he accuses the son of Lord Wessex, Harry Selton, of being in cahoots with Orange and his merry men – actually a fair accusation as it turns out, though the punishment meted out on his lover is anything but. (Mary Gray played by Maria Rohm on top form).


The picture quality is excellent for such a rarity though I really struggled to get the aspect ratio right. The 'auto' seemed to fail me entirely and a bunch of fiddling didn't seem to help much. 


The 20 minute interview piece with Jess Franco and Christopher Lee (separately) is very informative and its notable that each retain a very healthy regard for each other’s work.


There are also a selection of deleted and alternate scenes like the love scene between Harry and Mary which, in the main feature, is a nude scene though here we get a fully clothed alternative used in the original Spanish version.


A surprisingly worthwhile release.